JPS6050584B2 - Method of manufacturing profiled floor or wall coverings - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Profiled and cushioned
cushlOned) wall or floor covering (COve
ring) is well known and manufactured on a very large scale.

These coverings consist of a foamed layer of foamed polymeric material and a non-foamed, durable wear layer, which is made of foamed polymeric material so as to provide a profiled upper surface. The thickness levels of the molecular material are varied and the durability is usually transparent so that the decorative pattern on or in the foam layer can be seen through. There are generally two ways to manufacture such items.

One method is as follows.

From. A substantially homogeneous layer of foamed material is placed on the substrate (DepOslt) and typically foamed after application of the durable layer and then mechanically embossed to give the desired profile. It is effective. Such a method is described in U.S. Patent No. 3,741,851.
listed in the number. This method is inconvenient as it requires an embossing device, which results in the difficulty of economically obtaining a wide range of designs, especially those with several surface levels. A second method for producing cushioned floor or wall coverings with a profiled surface is a method widely adopted in industry and consists of the following.

A layer of foamable material is placed on the substrate, and the layer is placed on the first area, and after foaming, the level of this layer is in the remaining areas other than the first area. This layer is placed above the surface level of the second area and is foamed after this layer has been deposited, usually after the application of a durable resistive layer. One of such methods is as follows.

A smooth layer consisting of a foamable composition is placed in or under it, and a chemical reagent for selectively foaming as desired is placed therein. Later, the thickness of the foam layer is applied to vary according to the pattern. Therefore, the inhibitor (
1n]11bit0r) is selectively applied to a specific area. Such a method is commonly referred to as a suppression method and is described, for example, in British Patent Specification No. 10699.
It is described in No. 98 and No. 11509. This chemical reagent, often simply referred to as an inhibitor in practice, can produce the desired effects by inhibiting or activating the blowing agent or by chemical reactions of polymeric substances. It is something that can bring about an effect. Another method apart from the above is usually the one print method (Pr
intingmethod), in which a layer of foamable material is formed by depositing one or more foamable compositions; The foamable composition is placed in a pattern so that layers are formed. Therefore, in order to form a layer, the same composition may be used but the amount used is different, or the composition may be different and the amount used may be the same or different.
For example, compositions containing various blowing agent contents can be used. At least a portion of the layer may e.g.
Spread the foamable composition onto the profiled substrate using a doctor, thereby depositing the foamable composition on the substrate at various thicknesses, and other parts or all of the above, e.g. It may also be formed by printing using a print screen. Regarding the printing method, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,920,977, 32
No. 39365 and British Patent Specification No. 1409295. Multi-station rotary print screen (Mnltis twist TOnrOtaryp
The most common industrial method is the printing method, in which, for example, varying amounts of foamed plastisol are deposited at one or more stations, and then Conventional decorative inks are placed in the station, coated all over with a transparent durable layer, and then heated to foam and harden. The suppression method is also a well-known method along with the printing method, and is widely practiced industrially.

Both of these two methods require the creation of several surface levels and the precise registration of the colorant at each surface level.
This point is accepted, although it is not easy to implement commercially. The suppression method should be able to precisely register colors at different heights at the surface level, and in theory this registration can be manipulated at different surface levels. Although it has been proposed that
In practice, it is very difficult to obtain only two or more areas, one where the inhibitor is printed and one where it is not. With printing methods, more surface levels can be obtained, but since the printing machine only accommodates a certain number of printing stations, a larger machine is necessarily required to achieve the multi-level effect. becomes. In addition, visible color is usually obtained by printing ordinary ink on the foamable composition;
If different colors are to be produced on one level, it is preferable to have two printing stations per level, one for the foamable composition and one for the conventional ink. Also, if sharp patterns are required at each surface level, it is very difficult to ensure accurate registration between conventional inks and each surface level. It follows therefore that both known and widely used methods of producing profiled and cushioned wall or floor coverings suffer from the following drawbacks:

In other words, the designs that can be manufactured are strictly determined. This is why there is an urgent need to devise a new and simple method by which the decorative appearance of profiled and cushioned wall or floor coverings can be improved. The inventive method for producing profiled wall or floor coverings consists of the following.

Foaming involves forming at least one layer of one or more foamable compositions in a first pattern such that foamed layers having varying thickness levels are formed; activating or inhibiting expansion; Second chemical reagent for
A non-foamable material is applied to form a protective layer; the product is then heated to cause the foamable material to foam and cure the entire product. The first and second patterns are such that the resulting foamed product has a thickness level that is much greater than that obtained with a foamed layer without chemical reagents, and therefore is suitable for the present invention. The waviness is much greater compared to the surface level obtained by well-known suppression or printing methods. Normally, a single application of expandable plastisol using a rotary screen or other machine provides twice the surface level using known machines but with the present invention compared to other methods. This makes it possible to create designs with a constant number of colors. All foam layers are
During foaming, various levels of thickness are formed in the absence of inhibitors or activators.
This foam layer is formed by printing different amounts of foamable compositions of different or usually the same composition; By applying a layer of one composition on a profiled substrate, similar effects can be obtained.

Typically, one or more layers of foamable compositions include:
Although some cover the entire surface of the product, they may also be discontinuous.

It is preferred to use conventional foaming to form at least two different foam layers.

That is, one layer, layer A, is formed by depositing a layer of foamable composition and printing a second pattern of the chemical reagent underneath or, as usual, on top of it; Another layer, Layer B, is formed by depositing one or more foamable compositions in the first pattern. Therefore, in the second pattern, where layer B is not present, layer A will foam to form foamed layers with varying levels of thickness;
The pattern is such that in the absence of Layer A and the chemical reagent, Layer B will foam to form foam layers with varying levels of thickness, and the first and second patterns will bond together. This results in many more layer levels of different thickness than can be obtained from a single layer. In general, it is most convenient to first deposit layer A and then print layer B on top of it, for example by spreading or printing a layer of uniform thickness onto the substrate, but as desired. forming layer B, for example by printing on a smooth or profiled substrate or by spreading on a profiled substrate;
Layer A is then applied and chemical reagents may be applied below or above it. A preferred method consists of the following steps.

That is, a layer of foamable composition having a smooth upper surface is placed, below this layer or preferably above this layer,
The second pattern is printed with the chemical reagent and the first pattern is printed with one or more effervescent compositions. Both of these layers are particularly layer B.
It may be convenient to form them from two or more layers.

Typically, both layers A and B are overlying layers, but either or both of them, and especially layer B, may be discontinuous. The inhibitors or activators used for layer A are as follows.

If different blowing agents are used in the two layers A and B, the suppressor or activator may be used in layer A.
The inhibitor may have an effect on the expansion of the composition in layer B but not in layer B, and may have no effect on the expansion of layer B, or may have less effect on the expansion of layer B. Alternatively, the activator can be applied at a fixed location, for example on one side of layer A and away from layer B. However, it is generally expected that the expansion of layer B will have some influence.
Another method according to the invention is as follows.

The method consists of placing a layer of a foamable composition in a chamber and printing chemical reagents in certain locations so that they can act during the foaming process, the foamable composition comprising: If this layer is foamed by changing its thickness and/or by changing its contents, e.g. by changing its blowing agent content, the thickness of the layer will vary in the absence of chemical reagents. Let's do it like this. The chemical reagents can be printed under a layer, e.g., on the substrate before spreading the layer onto the substrate, on the top surface of the layer, or on top of the layer on the top surface of the layer. You can also One or more foam layers may be formed on a substrate, which may later be removed, but typically the substrate also forms part of the final product.

Substrates suitable for cushioned vinyl floor or wall coverings are already known and used and can be made, for example, from asbestos, fiberglass or cellulosic materials. When carrying out the invention, a preferred method is as follows.

Asbestos felt or other smooth substrate impregnated with a synthetic resin is coated to a uniform thickness with a foamable composition; and an ink containing a chemical reagent that inhibits or activates foaming is applied, e.g. printing thereon, usually by rotary screen printing; and reprinting the foamable composition thereon by rotary screen printing to create a thickness of giving rise to different continuous or discontinuous foam layers; and applying thereon, by rotary screen printing, a decorative pattern consisting of an inert and non-foaming ink; applying a protective layer; Then,
The product thus obtained is heated sufficiently to foam and harden. If desired, a non-foamed layer can be applied over the second foamed layer to improve printability and, if desired, before printing the decorative pattern onto the second foamed layer. , it is possible to bring out the background color.

As the materials used for the foamed layer, non-foamed layer, ink, and each component other than the above of the product manufactured in the present invention, materials commonly used in the present suppressor method and printing method can be used as appropriate.

Accordingly, the foamable layer is preferably made of polyvinyl chloride or other vinyl-based polymers, although any polymeric material that can gel and foam can be used. Suitable chemical reagents for suppressing and activating foaming are known, some of which are described, for example, in British Patent Specification No. 1,069,998. Non-foamed layers are typically based on polyvinyl chloride, other vinyl-based polymers, or polyurethane. In particular, all polyurethanes used for the surface coating layer are suitable if they can be cured by UV irradiation, and products coated in this way can be rapidly cured by irradiation. Something will happen. In the normal case, all products according to the invention are applied with a protective layer which covers the entire surface of the sheet material, but which includes a number of relatively small recessed areas in the profiled pattern. In the case where such parts are included, it is not necessary to cover them all.

The protective layer will provide a durable abrasion resistant layer, at least in the raised areas of the sheet material, but will typically also be coated over the recessed areas to provide a durable layer. In this way, in the normal case, polyvinyl chloride or other vinyl polymers are used to obtain at least 0.0577!77
! By forming a layer with a thickness of , sufficient strength can be obtained, and good abrasion and tear resistance can be obtained. However, some protective layers, especially those provided in recesses, have the effect first of all of providing a good leakage property, and are made of, for example, polyurethane and have a thickness of 0.01 to 0.5 mm. 04- can be used. The one or more layers in the protective layer can be made of vinyl-based polymers, usually PVCl or polyurethane, or other suitable polymers, and the resulting protective layer can have a thickness as desired. and all other properties in the area. Typically, at least a portion of this protective layer will be transparent. The protective layer itself, if desired.
It may be formed in two or more layers, and in particular it is desirable for the protective layer to consist of two or more layers in order to increase the decorative effect of the substrate. For example, as described in British Patent Application No. 40931/76 filed by the same company as the present application, the following may be used. That is, the main protective layer is composed of the first and second non-foamed layers, covering at least the raised areas of the final foamed layer. at least one of these layers is not a continuous layer, and each of these layers has a thickness of at least 0.05, each differing in color and/or opacity, and At least a portion of both the first and second non-foamed layers shall be visible in the final product. Preferably, at least one of the first and second layers is transparent, so that only the decorative pattern printed between the foam layer and the protective layer is visible. Or at least only the decorative pattern portion of the foam layer can be seen. As described above, according to the technology of the present invention, even the durable layer itself can have a colored decorative effect, and it is possible to obtain further colored decorative effects in the durable layer itself.
With the method described in No. 932/76, further color decorative effects can be obtained additionally or alternatively. In this way, a protective layer may be applied on top of the foamed layer, which layer is comprised of a first and a second non-foamed layer. Of these non-foamed layers, the second layer is discontinuous, at least separated from the uncoated first non-foamed layer, and has a different gloss or texture than the first layer. Yes, and/or
At least one of the first and second non-foamed layers is not continuous and forms a protective layer, but their thickness is different, giving the product a relief pattern. It turns out. As mentioned above, by appropriately adjusting the durable layer, various types of gloss and/or
Further profiling effects can be obtained. As the materials used to form the first and second layers, conventional polymeric materials commonly used for durable anti-abrasion layers in floor or wall covering links can also be suitably used, e.g. , polyvinyl chloride or other vinyl-based polymers, or polyurethane as at least one of these polymeric materials.

Polyurethanes are particularly useful where high gloss is required, usually in the second layer. Polyurethane is preferred because it can be cured by UV radiation, so the printed product can be subjected to this radiation treatment and cured quickly. As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate 1 having a smooth upper surface is coated with a uniform layer 2 of a foamable composition.

An ink 3 containing an inhibitor is then printed thereon, and then a foamable composition 4 is also printed.
Here, if desired, a pattern of inert decorative ink may be applied. A protective layer is then applied by printing several compositions with different compositions. A colored material 5 is applied and deposited in several areas to develop a profiling effect, and then a clean, shiny and transparent deposit (De-POsit) 6 is applied over the entire surface and in other locations. is a transparent matte (Wa
tt) Apply composition 7. When foamed, compositions 2 and 4 expand to form foamable deposits 2a and 4a, respectively, and the portion of composition 2a below the suppressing ink 3 is substantially foamed. Only the top portions of the composition 4a are foamed, but these portions are immersed without being separated from each other due to the action of the suppressing ink 3. Depending on the combination of the foamable deposit layer 2 and the inhibitor ink 3, four different surface levels 10, 11, 1 are created.
2, 13 are obtained, and by applying a protective layer 5 a fifth surface level, level 14, is obtained. A further decorative effect can be obtained by using a colored material as the deposit 5, and a similar effect can be obtained by using a matte material 7 in the surface recesses 10. Depending on the nature of foamable compositions 2, 4 and inhibitor 3, level 1
It is also possible for the heights of 1 and 12 to be opposite to that shown. A general method for carrying out the invention is as follows.

Asbestos felt is coated with a layer of polyvinyl chloride composition that contains a blowing agent that causes the layer to expand when melted.

The coated substrate is printed with several different inks, one of which contains a foam inhibitor to inhibit the expansion process. In this printing process, one or more PVC plastisols (containing blowing agents) are added to the
．． Apply at a thickness of 15 Twt. In this case, some of the plastisol is applied to areas previously printed with ink without inhibitor, and some of the plastisol is applied over areas containing inhibitor. Furthermore, if it is necessary to decorate or otherwise affect the surface of the expandable plastisol that has already been applied, further ink is applied there. Therefore, the material printed in this way can be either coated with various plastisols to produce the product shown in the drawings, or coated with a transparent durable layer of plastisol PVC, and then coated with a transparent durable layer of plastisol PVC. Heat to melt and bring to bubble expansion temperature.

After cooling the product, a thin layer (
4). 05TrDTt) is applied to the surface of the product obtained above using the curtain coating method and heated to remove the solvent and react the polyol with the isocyanate. After cooling again, a product is obtained which is structured, cushioned and patterned, has high strength and is resistant to tearing and chipping. The polyurethane lacquer provides durable high gloss and stain resistance, and it has a multilayer structure. Generally, this substrate consists of fibers and a binder, and its weight is 150 to 100.
0y1d1 is preferably 200 to 70091, and the binder is often 10 to 50% of the total weight.

Although the substrate may be coated with a plastic material thereon, typically the weight of the substrate, even including such plastic coating, is 2000 y.
Irr1 or less, and its thickness is usually 1.2TI
It is below UTL. Usually the thickness is at least 0
．． 3Tr$L, but generally 0.5 to 17717
7! It is preferable that When the substrate is used as a floor covering, it is preferred to have a greater thickness and weight than when it is used as a wall covering. The total amount of expandable plastisol is usually 2
00~800f! Idl preferably 300-500y/
d, but when this material is used as wall covering, it can also be 50 to 300 y1d. If this material is used as a wall covering, the protective layer should be at least 0.01 to 0.0.
A lacquer thickness of 0.04Tr0n is sufficient, but if used as a floor covering, the protective layer should cover the entire surface area to a thickness of at least 0.05Tf$L. is preferable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred method of manufacturing according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the product after all materials have been deposited but before foaming and curing, and FIG. 2 shows the final product. 1...Base body, 2.
... Foaming composition, 3... Ink, 4... Foaming composition, 5... Coloring, 6... Transparent layer, 7... Matte composition.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. At least one layer of one or more foamable compositions having varying thickness is formed in a first layer such that foamed layers of varying thickness levels are formed when foamed. forming a pattern; printing a second pattern with a chemical reagent that activates or inhibits expansion of the one or more foamable compositions; applying a non-foaming material to form a protective layer; and heating the product. foaming the foamable material and curing the article, said first pattern and said second pattern having more thickness levels than would be imparted by said foamable layer in the absence of said chemical reagent. 1. A method for producing a profiled floor or wall covering, characterized in that the method is such that a foamed product is obtained having a profiled floor or wall covering. 2 depositing a layer of a foamable composition, printing said chemical reagent in a second pattern over or below said composition, and depositing at least one layer of one or more foamable compositions on said second pattern; 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising depositing in a pattern. 3 depositing a layer of foamable composition having a smooth top surface, printing a second pattern of chemical reagents on or below this, and applying one or more foamable compositions to said first layer;
3. A method according to claim 2, comprising printing a pattern. 4 Coating a smooth substrate with a layer of uniform thickness of a foamable composition, printing an ink containing said chemical reagent thereon, and applying discontinuous or continuous foamable layers of different thicknesses by rotary coating. printing on the first intumescent layer by screen printing, printing a decorative pattern of inert ink by rotary screen printing, applying a protective layer;
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising heating the product to foam and harden the product. 5 forming a protective layer by depositing first and second non-foamed layers, wherein: (1) the second non-foamed layer is discontinuous and does not cover at least a portion of the first non-foamed layer; and has a gloss different from that of the first non-foamed layer,
and/or (2) at least one of the first and second non-foamed layers is discontinuous and forms a protective layer of different thickness, the difference in thickness forming a relief-like pattern in the covering. and/or (3) the protective layer is comprised of a first and a second non-foamed layer in the area where the protective layer covers the area where the foamable composition is raised by foaming; at least one of the first and second non-foamed layers is discontinuous, each is at least 0.05 mm thick, differs in color and/or opacity, and at least some portions of the first and second non-foamed layers are visible. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is a layer.